Category: Society

Getting Policing Right is About as Important as It Gets

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I Am Not Giving Up, But I am Not Optimistic

Why This Is So Important

No one can accuse this blog of only doing easy topics. Policing is one this space has addressed before and will surely revisit again after today. This is a seriously important topic for more than any one obvious reason.

Justice and Trust – A large portion of the American citizenry feels far more threatened than protected by the police. They have little expectation of fairness or justice from the police. Thanks to the spreading use of body cameras and the ever-present smart phone,

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Psst! Hey, Catholic Bishops – Can We Talk?

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I have a Question

 

You May Have Heard What the Bishops are Up to of Late

American Catholic bishops recently took a drastic step. They went on record, by a hefty margin, recommending that local catholic authorities withhold the sacrament of the Eucharist for President Biden. The wording is more general, but everyone recognizes Biden is the target. They will decide in November on doing this or not.

Just to remind, the Eucharist (Communion) is ritual the church believes channels divine grace. It takes inspiration from the Last Supper. Participants consume bread and wine.

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Curiosity vs Relaxation

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In the War for My Mind, Relaxation Never Stood a Chance.

 

Picture Yourself in This Scenario

You and another person are sitting around, say first thing in the morning. A topic comes up that leads to a question neither of you know the answer to at the moment. One of you will file that question away and sometime in the coming days likely will look it up online. It is in a category of mull it over and when it is convenient, look it up. After all, its early. We have not even had a morning cup of coffee yet.

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Ever Notice That Guns and Inoculations Have Something in Common?

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No, It’s Not the Word “Shots”

 

Looking for Balance – or Choosing Not to Do So

It should be fairly obvious that questions around gun ownership and vaccinations touch on major issues of personal liberty and community responsibility. Not either – both. And yet, the debate has been so long and so rancorous on one of these (guns), that people tend to move immediately to an all or nothing position. Given the divisions in the nation in the post Trump era, the same thing has quickly come to the arguments about requiring or expecting vaccinations.

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You Say You Love Your Country? OK – Let’s See What That Means

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Love is a Complicated Thing – with a Person or a Country

 

America – Love It or Leave It

Remember that phrase? It was not a new sentiment, but the phrase became part of the national lexicon during the Nixon era. The national divisions over the Vietnam war had developed into a broader national division. Nixon and Agnew fanned the divisions and that phrase got repeated (most often, got yelled) a lot.

The implication, of course, was that any criticism of the country, and by extension of the government, was wrong and was unpatriotic.

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How About a Happy Story of a Tech Company Doing Right by People?

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Proof Positive That One Can Do Good, Make a Profit, and Serve the Public

 

First, a Reminder of What We Don’t Like

By now, we all know that pretty much everything we do on Facebook and on Google (and its various entities) is tracked and fed into various tools designed to feed us ads more likely to ring a bell with us. In principle, not a terrible thing. It could be helpful to get ads more relevant to our interests.

But there surely is a dark side. We have no transparency and very little say over what is recorded about us,

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About That Bipartisan Goal – Forget it

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The Republicans Have Made Their Stance Clear – And the Clock is Ticking

 

How Important is Bipartisanship?

Well, that is an interesting question – depends on who you ask. Generically, most people would, in a neutral setting, say it counts and they would like to see it as a part of governance. Makes sense in a complex society, doesn’t it? But we are not in a neutral environment and have not been for some time.

Joe Biden certainly thinks it is important. It is in his DNA. Decades of experience tell him big things can be done in a solid manner when bipartisan legislation is passed.

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No One Should Die in a War/ There are Some Things Worth Dying For

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Both Statements are True. Reflections on Memorial Day

About Memorial Day

Yesterday, many of us took some time to reflect on Memorial Day. Most of us likely did the usual things. We put out a flag in the morning. We reflected on those we knew and lost to combat. Perhaps we attended a Memorial Day service.

I did all three of those things. I was fortunate enough to attend an excellent Memorial Day service in my community. The homily was provided by a friend, Rev. Jeanne Finan. I mention this because Jeanne also writes one heck of a good blog – entertaining and informative.

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Music Has Charms to Soothe the Savage Beast- or to Rock On

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Reflections on Music in Our Lives

 

Music as Culture, Art, Meditation, and Communication

This blog focused on music somewhat in a posting some months ago, but as America begins to emerge from COVID isolation, this seems a good time for some additional, different reflections. The quote about the charms of music in the title of today’s blog is certainly true – and it has a long history. The wording varies a bit in its historical variations.

Many think Shakespeare is the author. Au, Contraire! It is largely agreed by historians that the author of the version we have heard over the years was 17thCentury poet William Congreve,

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Adaptation, Survival, and Happy Endings

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Family Restaurant -1, Pandemic – 0

Setting the Scene

As mentioned earlier in this space, we took a bit of a regional trip a couple of weeks ago. At our first overnight stop, we went restaurant hunting online. This was not a town known for fine dining, but we found an Italian place that had lots of good comments and hey, good Italian is pretty simple cuisine, so we decided to give them a try.

We made an online reservation, got both an online and text confirmation and we were ready to go. A day or so prior,

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